Asheville press conference set to comment on North Carolina SBI lab problems

“Murder victims’ family members, a North Carolina death row exoneree and a member of his defense team, NAACP, ACLU and PFADP (People of Faith Against the Death Penalty) representatives, students, academics, and faith leaders will comment on the findings of malfeasance at the SBI lab during a press conference in front of the Buncombe County courthouse at 12:00 noon on Tuesday, September 14.

A report by two former FBI agents released last month details problems in the procedure and policy used at the SBI Serology Lab and suggests that over 200 cases were likely affected by the faulty and unscientific processes. A Raleigh News and Observer series reported on over a dozen cases that may have been affected by faulty work in the other five SBI crime labs, none of which has been investigated. Some were cases where people have been executed.

“I know about innocent people being killed,” says Carol Dreiling, a member of Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation. “Both my parents were killed in their home during a break-in.”

Just yesterday, Attorney General Roy Cooper appointed a former chief judge of the N.C. Court of Appeals to run the State Bureau of Investigation’s Serology Lab on an interim basis. A coalition of groups is calling for further investigations and reforms in light of the recent findings.”